Auntie Em had a flat tire last week, and didn’t see it until after driving to TeeKay‘s down the block, and ruining it. Her sweet husband changed it while we took her car and went swimming! It turned out to be a good thing (Romans 8:28 again!) because when Mr X took it to the tire shop, they found wire showing through on another tire, and we realized it was time to replace them all. The good news was that we had the money saved, so I didn’t have to worry about driving on bald tires, or decide what I could do without while I paid for tires, or put them on a credit card and pay exorbitant interest!
You will recall that one of Auntie Em’s rules is BE FRUGAL. I believe this is a Biblical principle, as well as one that just makes sense. There are so many things we can fritter our money away on, and advertisers work tirelessly to convince us of our need for their products. When Mr X and I got married, at 21 and 19, he was making a whopping $5/hour (but with unlimited overtime!) and I had 12 piano students at $25/month. We had no financial plan. We had never talked about our goals. But you know that old saying that “God protects children and fools”? I guess we were both of those, and it worked out well, mostly because of his parents’ example of frugality and good stewardship. (Just a note, though- in the year and a half before we bought our first house we saved $7,000!)
We have taught 2 sessions of Dave’s Financial Peace University at our church, and we are believers! It has made a significant difference in the lives of several of our church families. In a nutshell, he has 7 “Baby Steps”:
1. $1000 emergency fund
2. Debt snowball (pay off all debt except home mortgage)
3. 3-6 months’ living expense emergency fund
4. retirement
5. college fund for your kids
6. Pay off your house early.
7. Give like crazy!
He has a great website, with lots of free resources. If you are stressed out about your finances, you don’t have to be! Dave will tell you, he doesn’t have any new ideas. These are all things your grandmother told you! But with a plan to get your money under YOUR control, instead of the other way around, you can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Welcome to Dave Ramsey fan land! It’s so exciting you are leading this through your church. I pray for everyone to gain so much wisdom and be open minded and hearted to the new perspective on money!
We went through several years ago, became debt free, and it rocked our world in a major way. Our married oldest is now debt free and saving towards a house. Our youngest is working on dumping her debt.
I have written quite a bit on finances. You might enjoy the two pivotal pieces on our awakening about enabling and boomerangs (adult children who have moved back home).
We have been facilitators and it is so satisfying to see folks become more hopeful! Blessings for you and your encouraging ways! I see you are an Amy Dacyzn (sp?) fan, too. She was truly a personal finance pioneer.
I think you and I might be two peas in a pod, Kim! I’m looking forward to your great postss.
My husband and I read Dave Ramsey’s book a couple of years ago and completely changed the way we live. We are now stable and paying down our debt, still a long way to go but we can see that there will be an end. Hooray!
Heidi, I’m so glad that you discovered it early in your marriage, and thanks so much for reading and commenting!
Dave has some excellent points! I bought his book for our son and asked my daugher-in=law to read it first then give it our boy. Never heard even a thank you. Probably thought I was butting in, but then they went into bankruptzy so what can I say!
oh that’s tough. You have to be ready to learn to do it– and some of us are more hard-headed than others, and insist on taking the field trip instead of just reading the book. Thanks for visiting!
[…] 5. Thank You, Dave Ramsey […]
I have heard so much about Dave Ramsey and how he has helped multitudes of people get out of debt. And this is good news – because buying tires are not cheap…that kind of a surprise could be really discouraging!! Thank you for linking this up. I hope a lot of people see this post and check out his materials!
Thanks Rosalind! I appreciate your parties and your followups– I do hope my posts help some folks– that’s why I’m here!